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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · wake · scale · bulb · ground · cold · band · chip

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. wake — a trail
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. chip — to eat
  7. ground — the earth
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — crushed
  10. band — a ring
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a committee
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bulb — for light
  22. scale — in music
  23. bulb — for light
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com